


You've Got Mail

by Historical_Fangirl



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: 1990s, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Artistic Liberties, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Historical Accuracy, Historical References, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Pen Pals, Recovery, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27128047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Historical_Fangirl/pseuds/Historical_Fangirl
Summary: After almost dying from food poisoning, Luke finds his life thrown completely off course. As he recovers, he corresponds with the grief-stricken daughter of one of his father's friends from college through email, and discovers a new path.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 20
Kudos: 143





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Contrary to what the title might suggest, this isn't actually a You've Got Mail AU.
> 
> After my first Julie and the Phantoms story got such positive feedback (thank you so much to everyone who left comments and kudos on it), I decided to give this story a go. I've never written anything quite like it before, but I'm excited about exploring new things!
> 
> This takes place entirely in the 1990s because I am incapable of writing anything set in the present day.

_August 1995_

“Luke? Honey? It’s time to wake up now.”

Luke groaned softly as he forced his eyes open and saw his mother perched on the end of his bed, rubbing one of his legs gently to rouse him. He squinted against the bright sunlight streaming in through his window and slowly pushed himself up, gingerly holding one hand against his abdomen.

Emily Patterson watched him anxiously. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m… okay,” Luke replied. As if to make a liar out of him, he suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot through his stomach, causing him to hunch forward. “Traitor,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

“Is it your stomach? If it hurts too much there’s always those pain killers-”

“No!” Luke shot back. At his mother’s look, he sighed and shook his head. “Sorry. No, thanks. I don’t want to take them if I don’t have to. They make me fuzzy.”

“Alright,” Emily conceded. “Tell me if you change your mind.”

“I will,” Luke promised, offering her a half-hearted smile. “Thanks.”

Emily returned his smile with a gentle kiss to his forehead, both as an expression of her affection and, Luke suspected, as a way to check if he was running a fever.

Mitch Patterson appeared in the doorway to Luke’s room then, smiling an overly cheery smile that made something inside Luke ache.

“Hey, kiddo. You hungry?”

The thought of food made Luke nauseous (one of the many perks of almost dying from food poisoning, he was finding) but he pushed the feeling down and nodded with what he hoped was an enthusiastic expression. “I could eat.”

“Good. I’m making blueberry pancakes, your favorite.” Emily said as she stood up. At Luke’s lack of a response, her smile faltered. “You do still like pancakes, right?”

“Yeah mom, I still like pancakes,” he reassured her, feeling guilt tug at his heart once again.

“Come on, honey. Let’s give him some time to get dressed,” Mitch said, wrapping an arm around Emily’s shoulder and gently leading her out. He paused for a second in the doorway, his eyes downcast, before stepping out into the hallway with a barely-audible sigh and tugging the door shut behind him.

Luke let out a breath and put his head in his hands, tugging his fingers through his messy hair. Ever since that fateful night at the Orpheum two weeks ago, when he and two of his bandmates had collapsed with a bad case of food poisoning just before going on stage and had to be rushed to the hospital, relations with his parents had been tense. Luke supposed that was what happened when you almost died and then woke up in an unfamiliar white room with people you hadn’t spoken to in a year and a half holding your hands and crying their eyes out, but it still made things awkward, to say the least.

And there was the whole predicament of his bandmates themselves. Bobby was fine, apart from being more than a little traumatized by the whole ordeal. Reggie was, like himself, still dealing with the after-effects of massive internal trauma, but overall seemed to be on the mend.

And then there was Alex.

Alex had been the sickest out of all of them. He was the first one to complain of not feeling well, the first one to collapse in a heap backstage, and the only one to have been put in the ICU. There had been several times when even the doctors themselves weren’t sure if he would pull through.

_But he did,_ Luke reminded himself, taking a deep breath to calm his racing thoughts. _And he’s being discharged today. He’s gonna be fine._

A knock on the door jolted Luke out of his thoughts, and he looked over to see his mother looking at him apologetically.

“Breakfast is ready.”

He tried to smile. “Okay.”

~

Luke managed to force down two and a half pancakes, and while that was progress for him he could tell it still worried his mother. Before, he could easily have inhaled ten and still have been hungry. Now, that was nothing but a distant memory.

“What time is Reggie coming over?” his father asked after they had all finished eating.

“Twelve,” Luke answered. “And we’re going over to Alex’s after he gets home.”

“It’ll be nice to see him again. Truth be told, I’ve missed all the boys.”

His father was only trying to be kind. Luke knew that. And yet, when he heard the same man who had once told him that associating with “wanna-be delinquents” would get him nowhere in life singing the praises of one of those same boys, something inside Luke snapped.

“If you like them so much, why did you try and stop me from playing with them?” His voice was dangerously low.

Emily looked nervous. “Your father was only trying to-”

“To belittle me, and everything Sunset Curve worked for for _years,_ ” Luke spat. “Because God forbid either of you actually supports me doing anything.”

“That’s not fair, Luke,” Mitch said, sounding surprisingly sad and tired instead of the sternness Luke had come to expect from him in the months before he left. “We do support you.”  
  


“Do you? Or do you just feel guilty?”

It was a low blow, and they all knew it. His mother looked down at her lap, blinking away tears, and his father wore the same expression that he had at Luke’s grandmother’s funeral. Luke remembered it distinctly, though he had only been nine at the time. He instantly wished he could take the words back.

“We…” Emily’s voice was shaky, and she barely got the first word out before a stifled sob escaped and she pressed a hand to her mouth.

Luke liked to think that he was a strong person, both physically and emotionally, but if there was one thing he absolutely couldn’t stand, it was seeing his mother cry. He abruptly stood up from the table, flinching as the sudden movement sent jolts of pain through his stomach once again, and addressed his father.

“I’ll be in my room. Let me know when Reggie gets here.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter of this story is here! I hope everyone enjoys it. Also, I wanted to thank everyone who has read this story and left me feedback on it so far. I'm coming from writing primarily for smaller, older fandoms, so seeing the number of comments, kudos, and hits that both this and my other Julie and the Phantoms story have received in a short amount of time is really astounding to me. I can't even express how much it warms my heart.

Reggie arrived at the Patterson residence almost exactly at noon, his mother in tow (much to Luke’s surprise- Mr. and Mrs. Klein usually worked all day). Luke’s mother settled them both in the living room, then went to inform Luke of his visitors.

The first thing that struck Luke when he saw Reggie was how noticeably pale the other boy was (quite an accomplishment since Reggie was normally pasty). The second thing was that he was wearing the same flannel that had been tied around his waist the night they almost died.

They had always joked that someone would have to pry that flannel from Reggie’s cold, dead hands for him to stop wearing it.

“Luke.” Reggie’s voice was soft as he slowly stood, hesitating a moment before pulling Luke into a tight hug.

“Hey, Reg,” Luke murmured into Reggie’s shoulder, his voice shaky as he fought against tears. They had seen each other briefly in the hospital when they were being discharged, but other than that they hadn’t been in the same room for two weeks. Going from seeing the other members of the band almost all day, every day, to not seeing them at all had been an adjustment that none of them enjoyed.

“Hey,” Reggie whispered back, sniffling. “Good to see you again.”

Luke let out a wet chuckle, and the two boys stayed in each other’s embrace for a few minutes, until Reggie swayed a little and pulled away.

“Sorry, do you think we can, uh…” He gestured to the couch.

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, of course.” Luke nodded, and the two took a seat next to each other. Their mothers, meanwhile, had stepped into the kitchen and were quietly conversing, presumably to give Reggie and Luke some time to themselves.

“So… how’ve you been?” Luke asked, not wanting to waste another minute with one of his best friends- no, one of his  _ brothers. _

Reggie shrugged. “Okay. Better, now.” He swallowed hard and looked down at his lap. “I missed you.”

“Me too,” Luke replied, his voice thick. He cleared his throat. “Have your parents… you know.”

“It’s been okay.” A small smile tugged at Reggie’s lips. “They’re actually agreeing for once. They want to sue the guy who owns the hot dog stand.”

Luke huffed a laugh. “That doesn’t surprise me.” Both of Reggie’s parents were successful lawyers, always poised for the next argument, be it in a court of law or with each other.

“Yeah. I told them it doesn’t matter, but…” Reggie trailed off and shrugged. “They never listen to me anyway.”

“Reg-”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Mrs. Klein said, although she didn’t sound all that sorry. The boys both looked over to see that the two women had reentered the room. “I’ve got to get back to the office by two o’clock. If you want a ride to Alex’s, we’ll have to leave now.”

Luke’s stomach twisted with anxiety, but Reggie reaching over and taking his hand calmed him down enough to nod.

“Okay.”

~

Neither Luke nor Reggie had been to Alex’s house in about a year, his parents having made their thoughts about him having male friends over since he came out abundantly clear. Nothing much had changed, except that there was now a paper sign reading  _ Welcome Home Alex!  _ in bright rainbow lettering over the door, likely the work of Alex’s younger sister (whether or not she knew the implications of her choice of color palette was unclear, but it made both of the other boys smile regardless).

“Bobby’s coming too, right?” Reggie asked as they made their way up the path after saying goodbye to his mother.

“Yeah.” Luke nodded. “He said he’d meet us here.”

They hesitated as they reached the front door, all too aware that they weren’t the most welcome in the Campbell household. Still, they were here to see Alex, and they wouldn’t abandon that mission.

Alex’s mother answered the door soon after Luke rang the doorbell. She didn’t look all that happy to see them, but she still gave them a tight smile.

“Hello, Luke. Reggie. Try not to stay too long, okay? Alex needs rest.”   
  


Both of them nodded, and she stepped aside to allow them entry.

Alex was lying on the couch in the living room, his eyes closed, and a large blanket over him. His sister sat at his feet, pretending she was reading a book when she was clearly keeping an eye on him. When she saw Luke and Reggie she waved, then reached over and tapped Alex on the shoulder.

“Hey, guys,” Alex said once he had opened his eyes, his voice rough with sleep. He sat up slowly, wincing. “Sorry. I must’ve drifted off.”

“It’s totally fine, dude,” Reggie said with his trademark grin. Luke, meanwhile, reached over and ruffled Alex’s hair affectionately.

“Thanks. You guys can sit.” Alex gestured to the chairs across from him. Then he turned to his sister, who had been watching the whole interaction with badly-concealed interest. “Go play, okay? I’ll be fine,” he signed.

She looked like she wanted to argue, but ultimately decided against it and traipsed off to her room with a somewhat hurt look.

“She hasn’t left me alone since I got out of the ICU,” Alex explained.

“She’s worried about you,” Luke offered.

“Yeah.”

“So, Alex, are your parents… cool, now?” Reggie asked after they had sat in silence for a minute.

Luke and Alex both looked at him in surprise. Usually, Reggie was the wisecracker, the one who strove to ignore serious subjects at all costs. His expression was so earnestly concerned, however, that Alex couldn’t help but smile.

“I wouldn’t say they’re  _ cool _ , exactly… mostly they’ve just been acting like I never came out in the first place.”

“That’s at least better than it was, though… right?” Luke asked.

“Yeah. Yeah no, it definitely is.”

“Alex.”

The boys looked up to see Mrs. Campbell standing in the doorway to the living room. It was unclear how long she’d been standing there (and how much she’d heard), and Luke felt his heart rate increase.

She didn’t seem inclined to start an argument, however, as she simply said, “Bobby’s here.”

A moment later, Bobby walked into the room, looking uncharacteristically shy as he took in the sight of the three of them together.

“Hey, Bobby,” Alex said.

“Hey,” Bobby mumbled back, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at the floor to avoid meeting any of their gazes.

“It’s good to see you.”

“You too.”

Luke, Reggie, and Alex waited, but Bobby didn’t say more than that, and he didn’t make a move to sit with them. Luke frowned.

“Dude, c’mon. Don’t just stand there, have a seat.”

Bobby shook his head. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean?” Reggie asked.

Bobby sighed, finally making eye contact with all of them. “I have something to tell you.”

Alex sat up straighter. “Okay. We’re listening.”

Bobby took a deep breath. “I didn’t know what happened to you guys until hours after it happened. I thought you just lost track of time and forgot about the gig.”

“We know. You told us that at the hospital,” Reggie said, his voice laced with the confusion all of them felt.

“I had to play the gig myself,” Bobby continued as if Reggie hadn’t spoken. “It wasn’t great, but I did my best and- and the crowd liked it.”

A pit of dread formed in Luke’s stomach.

“After the show, a record exec came up to talk to me. He said he thought I was great and asked if I wrote the songs myself. I told him no, Luke did, but that I didn’t know where any of you were.” Bobby chuckled, although there was no humor in it. “I was kinda freaking out.”

“That’s okay,” Alex said softly.

“Anyway, he was still interested in me, so he gave me his card and told me to call him when I figured everything out.”

“Wait, so, he wants to sign us? Sunset Curve?” Luke asked.

“Well… no. That’s the thing.” Bobby at least had the decency to look heartbroken as he revealed, “He just wants me.”

Silence reigned supreme in the Campbell’s living room as the other boys took all this information in. Luke was the first to recover.

“Wait, so what’s the problem? I mean, you said no, right?”

Bobby’s look of shame was answer enough.

“Oh my God…” Reggie breathed. “Bobby… how could you?”

“I watched you almost die, Reg,” Bobby said, near tears. “And now every time I look at you, all I can think about is seeing you in the hospital, looking so pale that I thought you were already gone, and having to call all of you guys’ parents and explain everything, and having them ask me a million questions that I didn’t know the answer to…” He took a deep breath and swiped at his eyes. “I can’t do this with you anymore. Not after all of that. I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry… but it hurts too much.”

With that, Bobby turned and left, leaving Luke, Reggie, and Alex stunned into silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex's sister is named Samantha, and she's 12 in 1995. She's also Deaf, in case you missed Alex's signing.
> 
> I gave Reggie the last name Klein and Alex the last name Campbell at random. They just felt like they fit them. Their parents and siblings might show up in this story again later on, but honestly, I'm contemplating writing a story solely about Alex and Reggie's backstories and families because I have so many headcanons. We shall see.
> 
> My apologies to anyone reading this who's a fan of Bobby. I tried to make his betrayal at least a tad bit more sympathetic than it's portrayed in the show, but I'm not sure if I succeeded.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After 3 chapters, Julie is finally introduced! Huzzah! (I also borrowed a lot of dialogue from the show because I don't think it's really a proper AU unless there are hundreds of not-so-subtle references to the source material, don't you agree?)

“Hey, underachiever!”

Julie Molina looked up as the loud call assailed her ears, smiling fondly as her best friend Flynn sidled up to her locker. “Hey, disappointment!”

“Ugh, I am  _ so _ glad the day’s almost over,” Flynn said, slumping against the wall dramatically. “Carrie was handing out flyers for the spirit rally at lunch. Apparently, she and her wanna-be girl group are performing.”

“They’re not a wanna-be girl group, they are one,” Julie corrected as she took the books she needed for her next few classes out of her locker. “They’ve been booking gigs all over the city.”

“Only because Carrie got her daddy to make a few calls,” Flynn muttered bitterly. Carrie’s father was a high-profile music producer who lived in a mansion in the hills above LA, and she had never been above using his influence to get what she wanted.

“Flynn-” Julie started, intending to admonish her friend for assuming the worst in people, but Flynn interrupted her before she could finish her chastisement.

“By the way, where were you at lunch? I thought we were gonna study for the Calc test next week.”

Julie’s expression dimmed, and she turned away from Flynn as she closed her locker. “Ms. Harrison wanted to talk to me.”

“Oh.” Flynn tugged at one of the many bracelets adorning her wrist. “What’d she say?”

“That she appreciates what I’m going through, but sooner or later I have to participate in class or…”

“Or you get kicked out of the music program.”

“You don’t have to say it like that!”

“Jules!” Flynn threw up her hands. “How else should I say it? This is serious!”   
  


“I know. I was there.”

The warning bell rang then, halting any further conversation. Flynn offered Julie one last sympathetic look before hurrying off. Julie groaned and pulled the baseball cap she was wearing lower on her head, ignoring the glare of a nearby teacher as she made her way to her final class.

~

“I’m home!”

“In here!”

Julie smiled at her father as he came into the kitchen. “Hey, Papi.”

“Hola, Mija,” Ray Molina replied, setting down his bag of camera equipment and reaching across the counter to ruffle her hair. “How was school today?”

Julie shrugged. “It was fine.”

“Yeah? Good.” Ray sat down next to her with a heavy sigh. “I’ve had photo shoots all day. Didn’t even get a chance to eat.” He paused. “But I did get a phone call.”

Julie’s heart thudded. “You did?”

“Yeah,” Ray affirmed. “It was Mitch Patterson, my friend from college?”

“Oh, him.” Julie visibly relaxed when she realized that she wasn’t about to be chewed out for everything at school. “Isn’t he the one whose son almost died from food poisoning with like three of his friends?”

“I don’t think Mitch likes to be reminded of that, but yes. That’s him.”

Julie nodded. “Okay.”

“Anyway,” Ray continued. “He was telling me how his son’s having a bit of a hard time right now, with everything he went through. And I suggested that the two of you could maybe talk to each other? You’re almost the same age.”

Julie frowned. “Talk?” she asked. “Talk about what?”

“Anything you want,” Ray said. His face was earnestly hopeful, but when Julie still hesitated he smiled sympathetically. “You don’t have to, honey. I just thought I’d ask. I’ll tell Mitch you’re busy-”

“No,” Julie interrupted. “I’ll do it.”

“Yeah?” Her father’s smile widened, and he produced a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Julie. “His name’s Luke. This is his email address. You can use the computer, as long as you’re careful and you don’t spend too much time on it, okay?”

“Okay, Papi.”

Ray planted a gentle kiss on Julie’s forehead. “You’re a star, Mija.”

~

**_To: lukeyboy17@aol.com_ **

**_From: jewels-molina80@aol.com_ **

**_Subject: Hi!_ **

_ Dear Luke, _

_ Hi! My name is Julie Molina, but you probably already knew that. My dad is friends with your dad, and he suggested that I should email you. You probably knew that too. _

_ I guess I should tell you a little about myself. I’m 15, and I’m a Sophomore at Los Feliz. I have a younger brother named Carlos, who’s 10. We don’t have any pets, although I did have a goldfish named T-Bob when I was little (don’t ask about the name). My dad’s a photographer, and Carlos wants to be a pro baseball player when he grows up. I don’t really know what I want to do yet. _

_ So. _

_ Tell me about yourself! I know you’re 17, are you a Senior? What college do you want to go to, or have you not decided yet? Do you have any siblings? Pets? What do you like to do for fun? What’s your favorite color? _

_ I hope to hear from you soon! _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Julie _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> American Online (AOL) first launched internet-based email services in 1993.
> 
> As always, thank you so much to everyone who has left feedback on this so far. Please don't hesitate to continue leaving comments and kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> The boys were supposed to play the Orpheum in July, according to the article about their deaths, and this takes place in early August.
> 
> I do want to put a disclaimer here, that although I normally strive to be as medically and historically accurate as possible, some artistic liberties have been taken given that the way the boys died in the show was extremely unrealistic in the first place (not that you can't die from food poisoning, you can, it just takes much longer than what was portrayed). I hope people don't mind!
> 
> I hope that everyone likes this so far, even though this is, quite literally, just the beginning. Feel free to leave comments and/or kudos, and give me feedback about what you liked (or didn't like, I suppose).


End file.
